Boat Bedding

[poter]

SWMBO is giving me some grief, in that I spend all available spare dosh on "Bits" for the boat (Dufour 35) & I have done nothing about inside comfort, so I am prepared to bite the proverbial & get some bed linen etc.

Ok, so the problem is - I will be chucking all the old cushions & I need to start again from bare boards up, not forgetting that most of our cruising is in the Med. hot, hot. I wonder how other Med sailors have overcome the problems of sweaty nights?

If you started again how would you arrange your bedding to get a really comfortable night? Not forgetting we are on a budget, so expensive designer bedding companies are out.
Is the 'under mesh' any good or waste of dosh?
The winter is not a problem as we have some duvets on board, but we have found sleeping on duvets in the summer to be too hot.

poter

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
SWMBO is giving me some grief, in that I spend all available spare dosh on "Bits" for the boat (Dufour 35) & I have done nothing about inside comfort,

[/ QUOTE ]

You are not on your own!!

For months I was being hammered to buy new cushions, but it wasnt enough to say "Fine - Go and buy some".... I had to go with her and show an interest.

Anyway, we've done it eventually, and I must admit that all looks very pretty and colourful.

But the forward heads havent been fixed, and a day on them, rather than cushions would probably have seen them sorted.

I guess I've "bought" a few grief free days to fix the bog, and some other stuff, so all is well.

Dont know about the bedding thing. Dogwatch has a solution which he is happy with, and I'm sure the pic will pop up shortly.

 

[Swagman]

If you really want to treat the missus, check out the cost of pine slats from IKEA and cut to fit. They not only turn firm foam into something closer to a real mattress - but air circulation under does aid keeping cool.
We've regular weight duvets, and lightweight ones when its warmer, but revert to sheet or duvet cover only when it gets hot.
Good luck
JOHN

 

[Liz_I]

Sorry, must be misssing something here! Has SWMBO got a sewing machine? OR, quick solution ordinary sheeting & nappy pins to make fit. Personally I prefer fully fitted sheets which are easy to make. Make sure you don't have plastic covered cushions!!! Even if they are covered with fabric use an under 'blanket' of cotton, then the sheet, much more comfortable. Ventilation?? Okay, make a wind scoop! If necessary a mossie net incorperated. We have a plastisized netting type ( camping, protect the grass stuff) under the mattresses which works fine in summer. Condensation in the winter, however, is a problem so Swagman's suggestion would probably be better.
If you are short of cash then getting 'proper' mattresses isn't an option but beware of cheap foam - it will not last and will, eventually, be an expensive mistake.
Sleep tight!

 

[DavidJ]

A breakthrough for us was two single duvets (one each) on the double bed. No more squabbles at 3 in the morning and you can make the most out of the very strangely shaped bed.
For the hot summer just use the duvet covers.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

did someone whistle.

I was having terrible problems sleeping on just foam, I was waking up with my hip on fire from the pressure. We tried feather under mattresses, extra foam, even bringing the foam from the other cabin in and sleeping on both with a whole array of layers, I swear I would have still been bruised from a pea!

I had seen a product a few years back at one of the boat shows and decided to take a punt. It is not a cheap solution, but I can not praise it enough.

Click on the image below for the link, suffice to say I fully endorse this product and have no connections.




hope this helps

 

[SandraMennem]

Just this weekend we have solved the same problem with uncomfortable mattresses so this reply is as up-to-date as can be. Our bed at home is the most comfortable in the world so we have spent quite a lot of time researching this subject. Our solution was to buy 2 x 3ft wide memory foam mattresses. They are made by Sleepeezee and are called Sleep Solutions, Viscoluxe memory foam. They come in 3 densities - 5000, 7000, 9000 (5000 being the softest) and are vacuum packaged so they arrive in an easy-to-handle roll. They are also in a zipped cover that has a layer of quilting on the top to add to the comfort. We have cut them to size, put them back into their zipped cover and had a lovely sleep last night. You couldn't even feel the join in the middle where the two mattresses met. You can order them online for about £195 each. We are going to order a product called DryMesh to put underneath them (approx £70 for 2m x 2m) as our water tanks are under our bed and, being foam, the mattresses don't seem to be able to breathe as well as a sprung mattress. Bear in mind that what you sleep on is a very personal thing and what is great for one person, may not be the case for someone else. I know people who swear on having slats under their mattress and others who have taken them out because it wasn't suitable for them. Regarding bedding, we use our flat sheets from home as they fit any size and shape. I also have fitted sheets at home but find the flat ones are better on the boat because they will always fit. Likewise with our duvet. Why spend a lot of money on one that is shaped when a regular one will do the job perfectly. Hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[kalessin]

For our forepeak, I made a shaped undersheet of mattress ticking, with drawsheets which Velcro on to it, as recommended I think in one of the Med cruising guides.

It's been a bit of a mixed blessing: the ticking worked well in covering the buttons and joins in the cushions to make the bunk more comfortable, but it didn't fit all that well - it was only when we got back from our trip last year that I discovered the ticking was supposed to be dry-clean only, so it's not surprising that it shrank when washed! I have since extended it at the wide end and it works much better.

Despite the advice from whatever I read I think the Velcro hooks should be on the draw sheet not the under sheet, as otherwise you can skin your ankles on them.

We use two single duvets in the forepeak and have found them excellent, as another poster said. I don't see the point of shaped duvets - surely it means you both end up with very cold feet as the duvet is about 6in wide at the bottom end?

I think bedding is very important. I tended to use our cabin as a retreat and having a comfortable bed, cosy bedding and down pillows is an absolutely essential part of living on board for me - is this just a female thing?

Incidentally our Storm has the baseboards and cushions all in one, which makes it difficult to fit slats etc. without replacing everything - I'd be interested to know if anyone else has grappled successfully with this.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

[ QUOTE ]
Incidentally our Storm has the baseboards and cushions all in one, which makes it difficult to fit slats etc. without replacing everything - I'd be interested to know if anyone else has grappled successfully with this.

[/ QUOTE ]

see above!

 

[FullCircle]

In our Sun Odyssey, I have cut down an IKEA slatted frame, which is currently 20 quid.
It has worked really well, and is a slightly cheaper alternative to the Dogwatch solution.
The mouldings at either side all very flxible silicon rubber, so can contort around small fit issues quite well, and is aeasy to assemble. It(of course) comes in a flat pack.

But we were offered an almost unused custom Hawke House mattress made for our boat, so we have that as well. Heaven.

SULTAN LILLÅKER
Slatted bed base

 

[TigaWave]

Ikea + ventilation scoops/fans and a boat that has four opening portlights and two full sized hatches over the large aft double. Cool even on the hard in Trinidad.

 

[prescott56]

Hurry up with the sultan lillaker slats they are a discontinued product, I had to go over to Leeds store last week for mine.

I bought a mattress from ikea last year, £80, slightly to wide but i just cut of 10cm, and sewed the cover...well to be honest i still have to sew the cover, but it will get done...

Far better than the cushions which were on.

Regards

 

[poter]

Thank you one & all some great ideas as usual. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

poter /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[ARDS]

I noticed that sandra was going to buy Drymesh. I have used it for 6 months now on our Fairline and found it really effective. We tried the Ikea slats but found that after a while they lose their shape and sag a bit, not ideal, though very cheap. The Drymesh was really quick to fit , about 5 minutes and I can really say it works well. I bought it from Force 4 a shop in Lymingtom but I think you can also get it online-- happy sleeping

 

[Bejasus]

[ QUOTE ]
Our solution was to buy 2 x 3ft wide memory foam mattresses. They are made by Sleepeezee and are called Sleep Solutions, Viscoluxe memory foam. You can order them online for about £195 each.

[/ QUOTE ]
Having similar problems, we went to Walmart in the US and purchased a queensize memory foam mattress with 5 inches of foam and 3 inches of memory foam. What a transformation. It also came as above with a quited cover, however is was about 3 inches too wide, so out came the breadknife and, Hey Presto, prfect. SWMBO altered the cover and we now have a brilliant nights sleep.
Cost??????????? $220 US. Identical mattress price in the UK +£500 was the cheapest online price I could find. Still looking to sort out the underneath ventilation though. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Drymesh may be the way to go or lots of holes drilled in the baseboard.